Zombieland Review

There were a lot of movies I wanted to see this weekend — in fact I can’t remember the last time there were so many movies opening at once that actually looked as good as this lot.  Alas, some were not playing in my area (Big Fan, Capitalism: A Love Story) which narrowed my choices down a bit, the three remainders being Zombieland, The Invention of Lying, and Whip It.  At the end of the day, since I’m just another poor college student and cannot see each every new film I want, I had to decide which of these three seemed like it would be the most fun to see in theatres.

Zombieland was thus an easy choice to make.

The setup is simple: Zombies have taken over; only a few normal people remain; they must survive.  It sounds like the most generic setup for a zombie picture, to be sure, but this movie has a way of taking its ideas and running with them.  We meet our hero, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) who is making a cross country trip by himself, on his way to, well, Columbus.  You see we don’t know any of the characters names, only the names of where they’re from (it keep things more impersonal, just in case…).  Columbus is hoping that his parents may still be alive and so he embarks on his journey.  He has a list of rules that he compiles over time, rules that he believes will help him survive (Always wear a seat belt, Always allow yourself some cardio, Always “Double Tap” a zombie, Never enter a bathroom, etc.) and so far it seems to be working out.

One day he comes across another survivor, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) who gives him a lift and teaches him the art of massacring the undead.  And so it becomes a running theme throughout the story of finding fun, more interesting ways to off a zombie.  They pick up (more or less) two more survivors along the way, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).  The two young women are heading to a carnival, something Wichita believes the very young Little Rock needs to experience, if only so she can pretend to be a kid for a short time.

I was pleasantly surprised with the film.  The previews for the it make it out to be one thing, and to an extent it is, but if the whole movie was solely about funny ways to kill a zombie it would have no real lasting value.  No, the characters pull us into their story and we enjoy their personal quests no matter how trivial they may be (Tallahassee is hell bent on finding the elusive Twinkie before they all expire).  Columbus claims he just wants to try and find his parents but we learn that what he really desires is some kind of real connection with people (and, if possible, with a girl).

The movie begins and ends well and contains lots of laughs along the way — and a cameo from Bill Murray had the audience I saw the film with in absolute hysterics.  Jesse Eisenberg has that Michael Cera-esque quality to him where it seems like he’s always playing the same basic character — Eisenberg, however, is far more endearing in his roles in my opinion.

So do go see this movie.  It’s mostly everything the previews make it out to be, plus a little more.  And if you’re like me, you’ll probably crave a second viewing, probably before the credits even begin to role.

Note: Some people I saw this with tried to compare it to another zombie comedy, Shaun of the Dead.  Please do not go into this movie with that kind of mentality. Shaun of the Dead was a horror comedy filled to the brim with homages to the zombie genre, while Zombieland plays more as a road trip dramedy… but with zombies.  Neither film is better than the other because, well, they’re just different.